Another attempt by Republicans to delve deeper into the details of Joe Sestak's White House job offer fell short Wednesday.

A U.S. House panel blocked a Republican measure to direct the Justice Department to release all documents pertaining to the White House's efforts to persuade Joe Sestak not to run for the U.S. Senate.

A motion to "adversely report" the resolution of inquiry narrowly passed 15-12 by the House Judiciary Committee, asked that the U.S. Attorney General turn over all communication the Justice Department had regarding "discussions of administration appointments by White House Staff, or persons acting on behalf of White House staff, with any candidate for public office in exchange for such candidate's withdrawal from any election..."

The author of the measure, Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, said in prepared remarks that he is "disappointed" the resolution was even necessary to get more information from the Obama administration.

"It is a crime to offer someone a federal appointment as a reward for withdrawing from a primary election race," Smith said. "The Attorney General has a responsibility to ensure that all political officials -- including Administration officials -- follow this law."

Since Sestak first admitted four months ago that he had been offered a job by the White House to bow out of the U.S. Senate primary against Sen. Arlen Specter, Republicans have made it their mission to uncover whether the offer broke federal law.

After months of silence, the White House, under intense pressure from Republicans and Democrats alike, revealed that it had been former President Bill Clinton who called Sestak to convince him to remain in the U.S. House to avoid a contentious race in his Delaware County district. If he chose to do so, Sestak could have a position on a presidential advisory board as well.

Shortly thereafter, news broke that the White House offered a federal job to Andrew Romanoff in Colorado to persuade him not to run against endangered incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet.

Iowa Republican Steve King, calling it the "Sestak scandal" said its imperative to learn how the Justice Department may have advised the White House on the offers.

Rep. Bobby Scott, Democrat from Virginia, said there is "no credible evidence" that the Justice Department has any information, or offered "guidance or recommendation"pertaining to either the Sestak or the Romanoff job offers.

Nearly every Republican present took the five minutes allotted them to speak on behalf of the resolution.

Darrell Issa, the California Republican who has the led the charge for information by writing numerous letters requesting more information to various officials in the Obama administration, said, as he has in the past, that at the least the offer was unethical.

"Congressman Sestak has done nothing but tell us something that should have never happened, happened," Issa said.